Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Watch Your Speed!!
I figured I would test out the blog a little, and I thought I would add a little news that has made me a little perturbed. This also is a bit of a warning for all you who don't know. Within the last month Governer Spitzer has vetoed a bill in NY legislation. The bill was to change a year-old law that I had no clue existed. State Troopers in NY can no longer plead down any traffic tickets. These are the police that are all over Route 9, the Taconic, and 87. So basically I am telling everyone to watch their speed, becuase that 55 mph in a 40 is going to be that and no longer just a seat belt ticket after court. I know breaking the law should be breaking the law, and we should not be able to plea for lesser tickets, but Murderers get manslaughter, and abusers get "disturbing the peace" violations every day. Now all the lesser offenders are going to be slapped with serious penalties and fines with no chance for plea bargins. I just don't think it is fair. Any thoughts?
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2 comments:
Heather, I agree. Sure we have laws for a reason, and they are not made to be broken, but as you said, if rapists and murders can plea bargain, why the hell shouldn't small time offenders (aka speeders) not be able to?! I believe in our justice/legal system. I really do. It is what makes our country the best. But part of that legal system is the ability for defendants to fight their case. Thanks for the post, Heather.
Heather,
First, extra credit for publishing the first blog post! Second, I always like to do a little research to find out more about an issue before taking a position on it (a good idea in public relations). I couldn't find anything about the speeding law veto that you mentioned. Can you provide a link in another post?
I did, however, find an interesting article on MSN.com's Money site. According to the site, speeding is a "factor" in roughly 1/3 of fatal crashes. So, federal regulators are pressuring states to crack down on speeders. Could be that Gov. Spitzer is simply complying with this move.
It certainly makes sense to me to save lives by enforcing speeding laws (including cutting down on plea bargains). Of course, I might be biased. I lost close friends and a couple of relatives to traffic accidents.
If you want to read more from the article, click here.
Thanks again for kicking things off.
Mark
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